Page 43 - Iran

Israeli strike on Iran's Syria consulate killed two generals, says Iran

An Israeli airstrike that demolished Iran's consulate in Syria killed two Iranian generals and five officers, according to Iranian officials. The strike appeared to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of military officials from Iran, which supports militant groups fighting Israel in Gaza, and along its border with Lebanon. Since the war in Gaza began nearly six months ago, clashes have increased between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon. Hamas, which rules Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7, is also backed by Iran. Israel, which rarely acknowledges strikes against Iranian targets, said it had no comment on the latest attack in Syria, although a military spokesman blamed Iran for a drone attack early Monday against a naval base in southern Israel. Israel has grown increasingly impatient with the daily exchanges of fire with Hezbollah, which have escalated in recent days, and warned of the possibility of a full-fledged war. Iranian-backed Houthi rebel

Israeli strike destroys Iran's consular building in Damascus, kills several

An Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran's embassy in Syria, killing a senior Iranian military adviser and several others, Syrian officials and state media said on Monday. The strike appears to signify an escalation of Israel's targeting of Iranian military officials and their allies in Syria, which have intensified since Hamas militants - who are supported by Iran - attacked Israel on October 7. Israel, which rarely acknowledges such strikes, said it had no comment. The attack killed Iranian military adviser Gen. Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016, according to the Iranian Arabic-language state television channel Al-Alam and pan-Arab television station Al-Mayadeen, which has reporters in Syria. Iranian Ambassador Hossein Akbari condemned Israel and said as many as seven people were killed. First responders were still searching for bodies under the rubble. Akbari said two police officers who guard the building were ...

Israeli airstrike in Damascus kills top Iranian commander Zahedi: Report

A Lebanese security source, speaking to Reuters, said one of the dead was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)

Indian Navy vs pirates: Op launched to rescue crew of Iranian FV Al-Kambar

Indian Navy has responded to Israel-Hamas conflict's impact in maritime domain by re-orienting and significantly enhancing scope of its ongoing maritime security operations

'No-fail' mission to protect Red Sea fails as Houthi attacks continue

The Houthi campaign, which claimed its first civilian ship sunk in early March and its first fatalities not long after, is also a growing threat to the global economy

Iran condemns UN's report on protest crackdown, calls it "false and biased"

Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said that the report was built on "baseless claims" and "false and biased information, without a legal basis"

Iran responsible for 'physical violence' that killed Mahsa Amini, says UN

Iran is responsible for the physical violence that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the country's mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a UN fact-finding mission said on Friday. The stark pronouncement came in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. It also found that the Islamic Republic employed unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini's death, and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees. The monthslong security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. There was no immediate comment on the report from Iran. Iranian officials did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on the mission's findings. The release of the report is unlikely to change the trajectory of Iran's government, now more firmly in

Govt expects piracy attacks to rise in Red Sea, stretching navy resources

The attacks in the Arabian and Red Sea were the focus of discussions between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Indian counterpart Jaishankar at the recent Munich Security Conference

US and UK hit Iranian deputy commander and Houthi member with sanctions

The U.S. and U.K. sanctioned a deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a Houthi militant member, Tuesday. The U.S. additionally sanctioned firms registered in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands, along with two ships, including one that transported $100 million in Iranian commodities to China. Iranian official Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh, and Houthi group member Ibrahim al-Nashiri were hit with the U.S. and U.K. sanctions Tuesday. Hong Kong-registered Kohana Co. Ltd. and Marshall Islands-registered Iridescent Co. Ltd. which own the Panama-flagged Kohana were also designated for U.S. sanctions. The U.S. says the Kohana has shipped over $100 million in Iranian commodities to businesses in China on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Defense. Additionally, the U.S. and U.K. sanctioned Hong Kong-based Cap Tees Shipping Co. Ltd., which owns the Artura, accused of transporting Iranian commodities for the network of previously sanctioned Houthi and Iranian financial ...

Iran increased its total stockpile of uranium: UN nuclear watchdog report

Iran has further increased its total stockpile of uranium, according to a report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Monday, and continues to bar several of the most seasoned inspectors from monitoring its nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency also said in a second confidential report, distributed to member states, that Tehran made no progress in explaining the presence of manmade uranium particles found at two locations. The IAEA estimated in its quarterly report that as of February 10, Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile was at 5,525.5 kilograms (about 12,182 pounds), an increase of 1,038.7 kilograms (2,289 pounds) since the last quarterly report in November 2023. It also said that according to its assessment, Iran has an estimated 121.5 kilograms (267.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity, which represents a decrease of 6.8 kilograms (14.9 pounds) since the last report in November 2023. The decrease is t

Iran forces kill Jaish al-Adl militant commander, his companions in Pak

In the latest development, Iran's forces, in an armed clash, attacked a militant group, one month after the two countries conducted air strikes on each other

Iran begins first election campaign since 2022 protests over Amini's death

Candidates for Iran's parliament began campaigning on Thursday in the country's first election since the bloody crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. State television said 15,200 candidates will compete for a four-year term in the 290-seat chamber that hardliners have controlled for two decades. That is a record number and more than twice the candidates who contested the 2020 election, when voter turnout was just over 42 per cent, the lowest since 1979. Amini died on September 16, 2022, after her arrest by Iran's morality police for allegedly violating the country's strict headscarf law that forced women to cover their hair and entire bodies. The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran's clerical rulers. In the severe crackdown that followed, over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested, according to human rights activists in Iran. On Wednesday, the Guardian Council election watchdo

Iran accuses Israel of attack that saw explosions strike gas pipeline

An Israeli sabotage attack on an Iranian natural gas pipeline caused the multiple explosions that struck it a week ago, Iran's oil minister alleged on Wednesday, further raising tensions between the regional archenemies amid Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The comments by Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji come as Israel has been blamed for a series of attacks targeting Tehran's nuclear programme. The explosion of the gas pipeline was an Israeli plot, Owji said, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. The enemy intended to disturb gas service in the provinces and put people's gas distribution at risk. He added: The evil action and plot by the enemy was properly managed. Owji provided no evidence to support his claims. Israel has not acknowledged carrying out the attack, though it rarely claims its espionage missions abroad. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime foe of Iran, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The blasts on Febr

Yemen's Houthi rebels fire missiles at ship bound for their supporter Iran

The Star Iris had been heading from Brazil to Bandar Khomeini in Iran, the main backer and armer of the Houthis in Yemen's years-long war

Iran marks 45th anniversary of Islamic Revolution as tensions escalate

Iran marked on Sunday the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution amid tensions gripping the wider Middle East over Israel's continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of Iranians marched through major streets and squares decorated with flags, balloons and banners with revolutionary and religious slogans. In Tehran, crowds waved Iranian flags, chanted slogans, and carried placards with the traditional Death to America and Death to Israel written on them. Some burned US and Israeli flags, a common practice in pro-government rallies. There was a heavy security presence in the major cities across the country. The anniversary came a month after a deadly attack by the extremist Islamic State group in the central city of Kerman that left at least 95 people dead during the commemoration for prominent Iranian general Qassem Soleimani whom the US killed in a 2020 drone strike. Iran has tried to blame the US and Israel for the attack as the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Str

Iran announces visa-waiver for Indian tourists for maximum of 15-day stay

Iran on Tuesday announced a visa-waiver programme for Indians entering the country by air for tourism for a maximum stay of 15 days. The visa-free entry has been rolled out for Indian citizens from February 4 subject to four conditions, the Iranian embassy said. In December, Iran approved a new visa-free programme for India and 32 other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. The Iranian readout said individuals holding ordinary passports will be allowed to enter the country without a visa once every six months, with a maximum stay of 15 days. "It is important to note that the 15-day period cannot be extended," it said. "The visa abolition only applies to individuals entering the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran for tourism purposes," it said. It said Indians wanting to stay for a longer period or make multiple entries within a six-month period or requiring other types of visas must obtain necessary visas fro

Yemen appoints Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as country's new Prime Minister

In a surprise move, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Yemen's foreign minister, has been appointed as the country's new Prime Minister, according to Al Jazeera

President Joe Biden vows response as Iran denies role in US base attack

The troops were the first Americans to die from a West Asia attack since regional tensions were inflamed by the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza last October

Iran executes 4 convicted of planning sabotage, alleged links with Mossad

Iran executed on Monday four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel's Mossad secret service, state media reported. The official IRNA news agency said the men were convicted of planning to target a factory in 2022 belonging to Iran's defense ministry and involved in missile and defense equipment in the central city of Isfahan. The operation was allegedly engineered by Mossad and the four were trained by the Israeli agency in an African country before entering Iran, it said. The four were identified as Iranian nationals: Mohammad Faramarzi, Mohsen Mazloum, Vafa Azarbar and Pejman Fatehi. The execution was carried out after the country's Supreme Court upheld their death sentences, handed down by another court in September. The report did not say how the death sentences were carried out, but in Iran it's usually by hanging. In 2022, Iran said its intelligence agents had dismantled a group linked to Mossad that had allegedly planned terror operations inside Ira

Proxies can even consume empires that support them. Iran should remember

While it may be tempting to allow militants to operate as long as they are focused on your strategic rival next door, there is no such thing as 'our' terrorists